April 4, 2008
- (Rutland Herald)
- "Lawmen
testify in scandal's wake" -
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Article published Apr 4,
2008
Lawmen testify in scandal's wake
By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER — Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark had a simple assessment
of the state of his department's affairs after a former sheriff resigned
in an embezzlement scandal two years ago.
"It was a mess," said Clark, a Democrat, who was elected to the job
months after former Sheriff Sheila Prue resigned from office, pleading
guilty to using public funds on private expenses for her family.
Clark (who introduced himself to a Senate committee Thursday by joking
that he is "the new sheriff in town") was joined by a half-dozen other
sheriffs from across the state, including Bennington and Rutland
counties, in testifying in favor of a new bill that would strengthen the
criminal penalties against public officials who embezzle.
The version of the bill that passed the Vermont House last month would
allow a judge to remove an elected official from office if that person
was convicted of a job-related criminal offense.
Sheriffs said Thursday they would like to see some of that language
changed — a suggested amendment would allow a judge to remove an elected
official's financial responsibilities instead of fully removing them
from office — but said they were generally supportive of changing state
law to get officials in trouble with the law out of office.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee also eyed some changes to the
House version of the bill, including that judicial provision. Sen.
Richard Sears, D-Bennington, the chair of the committee, said revisions
on the bill would begin next week.
Bennington County Sheriff Gary Forrest said the Vermont Sheriff's
Association tried to reach a resignation agreement with Prue after
criminal charges were filed against her, but that fell through after
"lawyers got involved."
"I spent many, many days down in Windham County trying to get this
deal," he said.
The 2006 Prue scandal in Windham County wasn't the only one to rock the
sheriff's community in Vermont in recent years.
Two years earlier, former Washington County Sheriff Donald Edson
resigned after pleading guilty to a felony fraud charge. Edson had
borrowed $25,000 from the department and then forged documents to show
that the money was really spent on an undercover drug operation.
Since the scandals, the sheriff's community in Vermont has pulled
together. Local sheriffs now need just as much business sense as law
enforcement experience to handle the unique blend of local and state
resources and private and public contracts, Forrest said.
The association is now working on a guidebook for new sheriffs and has
worked with State Auditor Thomas Salmon to develop a consistent method
of keeping the financial books.
"If something happens to Sheriff Clark tomorrow, I can send my
bookkeeper down to help out," Rutland County Sheriff Stephen Benard
said.
Clark said the expertise of the other sheriffs in Vermont have helped
him as he moves through his second year as the new sheriff in Windham
County.
"On my first day I got a call right away from the association asking
what they do for me," he said. "This really is the strongest network in
Vermont."
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@rutlandherald.com. |
